White House expresses confidence in Attorney General Sessions

A day after a newspaper interview in which President Donald Trump raised questions about his choice for the job of Attorney General, the White House expressed public support for Jeff Sessions, saying Mr. Trump "has confidence in his ability" to lead the Department of Justice.

"He was disappointed," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of the President's view of Sessions and his recusal earlier this year from any involvement in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 elections, and possible links to the Trump campaign.

"But clearly he has confidence in him or he would not be the Attorney General," Sanders told reporters at an off-camera White House briefing.

It was a much different answer than one publicly given to reporters in early June, when news surfaced of Mr. Trump's frustration with Sessions and the Russia probe recusal, as the White House at that point refused to give any answer on whether the President wanted Sessions to quit.

Back then, supporters of Mr. Trump claimed the New York Times story was 'fake news,' but the President's own words - in a New York Times interview on Wednesday - confirmed that Trump-Sessions frustration scenario.